Automatic paper splicer

ABSTRACT

An automatic paper splicer particularly for use in a high speed rotary press for automatically splicing one roll of paper to another roll of paper thereby to maintain a continuous web feed, which comprises an intermittently rotatable reel carrying a plurality of rolls of paper thereon and a paster head including at least one hook member engageable with an elastic member provided on the periphery of any one of the paper rolls so as to remove the elastic member therefrom thereby to permit adhesive material to be exposed. To this end, an arrangement of the paper roll provided with the elastic member is herein disclosed.

.[111 3,861,612 Jan. 21, 1975 AUTOMATIC PAPER SPLICER [75] Inventor: Hagemu Kubo, Osaka, Japan [73] Assignee: Hamada Printing Press Mfg. Co.,

Ltd., Osaka-shi, Osaka-fu, Japan [22] Filed: June 23, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 265,511

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Wood 242/583 2,149,833 3/1939 Bernard 242/585 2,172,776 9/1939 Scott 2,998,205 8/196] Francik 3,001,735 9/l96l Francik 242/585 Primary ExaminerEdward J. McCarthy Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Craig & Antonelli [57] ABSTRACT An automatic paper splicer particularly for use in a high speed rotary press for automatically splicing one roll of paper to another roll of paper thereby to maintain a continuous web feed, which comprises an intermittently rotatable reel carrying a plurality of rolls of paper thereon and a paster head including at least one hook member engageable with an elastic member provided on the periphery of any one of the paper rolls so as to remove the elastic member therefrom thereby to permit adhesive material to be exposed. To this end an arrangement of the paper roll provided with the elastic member is herein disclosed.

8 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures AUTOMATIC PAPER SPLICER The present invention relates to an automatic paper splicer arrangement for use in a high speed rotary press and, more particularly, to a device for automatically splicing one roll of paper to another roll of paper thereby to maintain a continuous web feed in the high speed rotary press.

The present invention also pertains to a roll of paper which can be effectively utilized in connection with the splicing device herein disclosed.

One exemplary type of rotary printing machine heretofore largely employed in a number of newspaper printing works can, as is well known, produce more than 150,000 copies of a newspaper per hour. For this purpose, the printing cylinder press is rotated at a considerably high speed while a continuous sheet of paper is fed thereto at a corresponding rate. The higher the printing speed is, the sooner the roll of paper is consumed. Once the only roll of paper has been consumed, rotation of the printing cylinder press is stopped or lowered for providing an opportunity of changing the consumed roll of paper with a fresh one and the printing efficiency is therefore reduced.

In view of the above fact, most rotary printing machines are provided with an automatic paper splicer which generally comprises an intermittently rotatable reel having a plurality of, for example, three pairs of radially outwardly extending spider arms, each pair of said spider arms being adapted to rotatably support a roll of paper between the both ends thereof, and a paster head for attaching the paper of one paper roll to that of another by the use of an adhesive agent.

In this conventional automatic paper splicer, the paster head of one type is designed such as to moisten or activate a dry adhesive, coated on the outer layer of paper of a spare roll, by the contact therewith and to let the moistened adhesive area on the paper layer to stick to the trailing portion of the paper of the expiring roll as the latter is brought to the position that hasbeen occupied by the expiring roll of paper. In this arrangement, the paster head includes a brush used to moisten or activate the dry adhesive coated on the outer layer or leading portion of the paper roll and it has been oftentimes observed that the brush fails to moisten the entire surface area of dry adhesive on the leading portion of the paper roll unless otherwise operation of the splicer is intermitted.

Another type of paster head includes a vacuum suction device with which a silicone coated masking tape covering an adhesive material coated or placed on the leading portion of the spare roll of paper is peeled off from that leading portion by suction thereby permitting the exposed adhesive material on the leading portion of the spare roll of paper to stick to the trailing portion of the paper of the expiring roll as the latter is brought to the position that has been occupied by the expiring roll of paper. This type of paster head functions satisfactory. However, the higher the printing speed is, the higher the vacuum pressure is required. If the correspondingly high vacuum pressure is employed to facilitate the high speed printing, edge portions of the outer layer of paper of the spare roll have a tendency to be sucked into the suction cup of the vacuum suction device. Once the edge portions of the outer layer of the spare roll as thus sucked, the splicing of one roll of paper to another roll of paper will be hampered and, if

not, the continuous sheet of paper will be cut off during its travel past a plurality of guide roller arrangements or during its travel through the printing cylinder press. Therefore, the printing speed is naturally limited and, in the case where the printing speed cannot be reduced, the device itself cannot be used in connection with extremely flexible sheet material such as India paper or that used for a newspaper. Alternatively, reduction of the vacuum pressure exerted by the vacuum suction device will lead to the reduction of the printing speed, or otherwise the splicing cannot be efficiently performed.

Accordingly, an essential object of the present invention is to provide an automatic paper splicer arrangement which can be utilized in connection with any'type of sheet material for splicing one roll of paper to another roll of paper to maintain a continuous web feed in the high speed rotary press with substantial elimination of the abovementioned disadvantages inherent in the conventional device of similar character.

Another important object of the present invention is to provide an automatic paper splicer arrangement of the type above referred to which essentially comprises a splicer head including a hook member with which a covering overlapping an adhesive material coated or placed on the leading portion of the spare roll of paper is removed therefrom for permitting the exposed adhesive material on the leadingportion of the spare roll of paper to stick to the trailing portion of the paper of the expiring roll as the latter is brought to the position that has been occupied by the expiring roll of paper.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an automatic paper splicer arrangement of the type above referred to wherein the splicer head is provided with a suspension system for absorbing a shock which may be exerted during a period in which the splicer head is in rolling engagement with the periphery of the roll of paper rotating about its own axis.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide an automatic paper splicer arrangement of the type above referred to wherein the splicer head functions satisfactorily without affecting the printing speed, ensuring a reliable splicing operation irrespective of the quality of sheet material used.

It is a related object of the present invention to provide a roll of paper which can be effectively used in connection with the splicer arrangement herein disclosed.

It is another related object of the present invention to provide a roll of paper wherein the shaped leading end portion of the paper of the paper roll is provided with an elastic member which is adapted to be hooked by the hook member of the splicer head herein disclosed to expose the adhesive material coated or placed on that leading end portion thereof.

According to the present invention, there is provided an automatic paper splicer arrangement essentially comprising an intermittently rotatable reel having a plurality of pairs of spider arms, each pair of said spider arms being adapted to rotatably support a roll of paper between the both ends thereof and a paster head including an'electrically operated magnetic device and a hook member movable between an extended position and a retracted position by the action of the magnetic device for engagement, when in the extended position, with an elastic member on the covering overlapping the adhesive material on the leading end portion of the paper roll. Nevertheless, the splicer head itself is maintained at a position clear from the periphery of the paper roll and, only when the splicing operation is desired at which time one of the paper rollers now in operation is to be completely consumed, the splicer head is brought to a position in which a plurality of supporting rollers of the paster head roll over the periphery of the spare paper roll in contact therewith to enable the hook member to engage with the elastic member.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, there is provided a roll of paper of which the leading end portion is on its outer surface provided with an adhesive material covered with a suitable readilyremovable covering and the elastic member rigidly placed on the outer surface of the readily-removable covering so that the hook member of the splicer head can engage with said elastic member to peel off the covering thereby permitting the adhesive material to be exposed outside. It is to be noted that an essential feature of the roll of paper according to the present invention resides in the provision of the elastic member.

These and other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with preferred embodiments thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which;

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a paper splicer arrangement and its associated parts according to one preferred embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 2 is a schematic side sectional view, on an enlarged scale, of a splicer head shown in FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of a roll of paper showing a manner in which the leading end portion of the paper of the roll is secured,

FIG. 4 is a similar view to FIG. 3, showing a modified manner in which the leading end portion of the paper of the roll is secured,

FIG. 5 is a schematic top plan view of an essential portion of the paper roll of FIG. 4,

FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view of the essential portion of the paper roll shown in FIG. 3, which is shown together with a hook member of the splicer head for illustrating a manner in which the elastic member is hooked by the hook member,

FIG. 7 is a schematic side sectional view of a splicer head according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, and

FIG. 8 is a front sectional view of the splicer head shown in FIG. 7, showing various mechanisms accommodated within a housing structure thereof.

Before the description of the present invention proceeds, it is to be noted that, for the sake of brevity, like parts are designated by like reference numerals throughout the several views of the accompanying drawings. It is also to be noted that the concept of the present invention as well as its splicing device herein disclosed as preferred embodiments can be applied in any field of industry other than the newspaper printing industry, for example, in connection with a roll of metallic foil, synthetic film, cloth or other like sheet materials if such roll is arranged as herein disclosed.

Referring first to FIG. 1, a reel 1 is schematically shown as supported by a shaft 2 suitably supported by a framework (not shown) in any known manner for intermittent rotation with said reel 1. This reel 1 has three pairs of spider arms radially outwardly extending in an equidistantly spaced relation with respect to the shaft 2 or the axis of rotation of the reel 1, only three spider arms of each pair being shown at la, lb and 10. Each pair of the spider arms la, 1b and 10 carries a bridge rod 3a, 3b or 30 rotatably journalled between free end portions of the spider arms of each pair and on which a roll of paper is mounted as indicated by A, B and C, respectively. As the case may be, this bridge rod 3a, 3b or 30 may be a bobbin or the like around which paper is wound.

Intermittent rotation of the reel 1 may be effected in any known manner. By way of example, the shaft 2 may be intermittently rotated by a suitable electrical motor (not shown) through a suitable gearing arrangement in response to reduction of the outer diameter of any one of the paper rolls A, B and C. The arrangement for this purpose is disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,409,242 patented on Nov. 5, 1968 and assigned to the same assignee.

In FIG. 1, one of the paper rolls, such as indicated by A is assumed to be in an operative position in which condition a web of paper is continuously fed to a printing process from the paper roll A by means of a suitable drawing mechanism through a plurality of guide roller arrangements 4a, 4b, 4c and 4d, one of the roller arrangements such as indicated by 4b being preferably in the form of a floating roller. The floating roller 4b is collapsibly movable in the direction at right angles to the longitudinal axis thereof for maintaining a tension of the running web of paper at a constant value.

A plurality of equally spaced belts, only one of which is shown and indicated by 5, are utilized to back up the running web of paper during its travel from the paper roll A to the following process while maintaining a tension of said running web of paper at a constant value in cooperation with the floating roller 4b.

Each of these belts has one lower end connected to a suitable portion of the framework (not shown) through a compression spring 6 and the other upper end connected with a corresponding pulley 7 rigidly mounted on a shaft which is in turn connected with a suitable torque motor (not shown) for maintaining a tension of the belt 5 at a constant value. A pair of pulley arrangements, each comprising a plurality of pulleys each for one belt, such as indicated by 8 and 9, are arranged such that the outer surface of the belts 5 contact the reverse side of the running web of paper to exert a friction over the entire contact area between said outer surface of the belts 5 and the reverse side of the running web of paper, thereby ensuring the prevention of the fluttering of the running web of paper in cooperation with the operation of the floating roller 4b. Preferably, the pulley arrangement 9 is collapsibly movable in the direction at right angles to the longitudinal axis of said pulley arrangement 9 so that, when the incoming paper roll B is to be brought to the operative position previously occupied by the paper roll A upon rotation of the reel 1 in the direction as indicated by X, said pulley arrangement 9 is rearwardly collapsed in contact with the periphery of the paper roll B without disturbing the angular travel of the incoming paper roll. The distance between one belt to the adjacent belt can be adjustable as is well known to those skilled in the art.

The arrangement so far described is well known to those skilled in the art and may be of the same type as disclosed in the aforesaid U.S. Patent.

A splicer head is generally indicated by 10 and shown as positioned adjacent to the periphery of the incoming paper roll B. The details of this splicer head will be hereinafter fully described with reference to FIG. 2.

Referring now to FIG. 2, the splicer head 10 comprises a solid housing of box-like shape having a pair of opposed side plates 20a and 20b, a pair of opposed front and rear plates 20c and 20d of different length, a top plate 20e and a bottom plate 20f. This housing 20 is pivotally connected by means of a bracket piece 21, secured to or integrally formed with the top plate 20e, to a suitable supporting member 22 forming a part of the framework. This housing 20 or the splicer head 10 is movable between two positions, as will be mentioned later, by the operation of a hydraulic cylinder device 23 (FIG. 1) pivotally supported by the framework at 24 and having a hydraulically operated piston rod 23a. The piston rod 23a has one end operatively situated within the cylinder device and the other end pivotally connected with the housing 20, i.e., the rear plate 20d at an upper portion thereof so that the splicer head 10 is movable between the two disengaged and engaged positions in response to the movement of the piston rod 23a. In other words, when the piston rod 23a is in a retracted position, the splicer head is brought to the disengaged position, as indicated by dotted line in FIG. 1, in which condition the splicer head 10 is positioned remote from the periphery of the incoming paper roll B and, when the piston rod 23a is in a projected position, the splicer head 10 is positioned close to the periphery of the incoming paper roll B.

The hydraulic'cylinder device 23 is electrically associated with a switch 25, arranged in such a manner as will be described later, so that, upon closure of said switch 25, supply of fluid medium to the cylinder device 23 is intermitted. It is to be noted that the supply of fluid medium to the cylinder device 23 for operating the piston rod 23a may be effected in response to reduction of the diameter of the paper roll in the operative position, i.e., the expiring paper roll A to a predetermined value. In this case, a paper roll diameter detector is utilized for generating a signal representative of such diameter reduction with which the reel 1 is rotated to bring the spare roll to the position previously occupied by the expiring paper roll and then to cause the splicer head to position at the engaged position. Al-

ternatively, the supply of the fluid medium to the cylinder device 23 may be manually effected in such a way that the attendant worker handles a valve to permit the supply thereof when he notices a signal generated by the paper roll diameter detector. In either case, the paper roll diameter detector disclosed in the aforesaid US. Patent can be effectively utilized.

Extending from the opposed side plates 20a and 20b of the housing 20 in the obliquely downward direction is a pair of leg members 26a and 26b; while the leg member 26a is arranged as will be mentioned later, the leg member 26b had one upper end rigidly connected to the housing 20 and the other lower end rotatably carrying a roller wheel 27b. The leg member 26a has one end pivotally connected to the housing 20 by means of a pin 28 and the other lower end rotatably carrying another roller wheel 27a. The supporting pin 28 has one end situated outside the housing 20 and rigidly connected with the upper end of the leg member 260 as hereinabove described and the other end situated within the housing 20 and rigidly connected with an actuator piece 29 extending at right angles to the axis of the pin 28. This actuator piece 29 is adapted to operate an actuator 25a of the switch 25 secured to the top plate 20e within the housing 20 so as to be operated by the actuator piece 29.

The leg member 26a with its roller wheel 27a is normally urged by a coil spring 30, operatively mounted around the supporting pin 28 between the side plate 20a and the upper end of the leg member 26a, so that the roller wheel 27a is forwardly projected with respect to the other roller wheel 27b and, at the same time, the actuator piece 29 is conditioned such as to maintain the actuator 25a of the switch 25 in a projected position in which condition the switch 25 is in the OFF position. Thus, it is clear that, when the leg member 26a is rearwardly retracted with the roller wheel 27a in contact with the periphery of the incoming paper roll B, the actuator piece 29 pushes the actuator 25a of the switch 25 to a retracted position thereby permitting the switch 25 to be brought to the ON position for intermitting the supply of fluid medium to the cylinder device 23. Nevertheless, for preventing the leg member 260 from swinging beyond a predetermined stroke of swinging movement thereof, a pair of suitably spaced stops (not shown) may be provided in the side plate 200 on the both sides of the leg member 26a.

In the arrangement so far described, it is clear that, when the cylinder device 23 is operated in response to the signal from the paper roll diameter detector to bring the piston rod 23a to the extended position, the splicer head approaches to the periphery of the incoming paper roll, which is rotated about its own axis as will be mentioned later, with the rollerwheel 27a in contact with the periphery of the incoming paper roll, and, upon the contact between the roller wheel 27a and the periphery of the incoming paper roll, the leg member 26a is retracted against the coil spring 30 thereby causing the switch 25 to be in the ON position so that the supply of the fluid medium to the cylinder device 23 is intermitted while the splicer head itself is maintained in the engaged position.

Referring still to FIG. 2, rigidly supported in any suitable manner within the housing 20 is an electromagnetic device 31 including a movable iron core (not shown) integrally connected with a slidable rod 32. The slidable rod 32 is normally inwardly retracted by a compression spring having one end secured to an upper end of the slidable rod 32 and the other lower end situated on the depth of an inverted cap-like guide block 34 and surrounding a substantially intermediate portion of said slidable rod 32. The guide block 34 is rigidly secured to the electromagnetic device 31 and has a bore 34a on the depth thereof through which an lower free end of the slidable rod 32 extends to the outside of said guide block 34. This slidable rod 32 can be projected against the compression spring 33 only when the electromagnetic device 31 is energized.

A supporter block 35 of substantially inverted T shape is provided below the lower free end of the slidable rod 32. This supporter block 35 is formed with an upright stud 35a extending through an opening formed in the bottom plate 20f of the housing 20 and having an upper end rigidly connected with the lower end extremity of the slidable rod 32 and a beam portion 35b of substantially triangular cross section having an intermediate portion integrally connected with the lower end extremity of the upright stud 35a. The beam portion 35b carries a pair of rollers 36 rotatably mounted to the both lateral ends of said beam portion 350 at 35c,

only one of said rollers 36 being shown in FIG. 2. These rollers 36 are adapted to run over the peripheral surface of the incoming paper roll when the slidable rod 32 is in the extended position.

A substantially L-shaped hook member 37 having an engagement portion 37a and a needle portion 37b is rigidly secured to the intermediate portion of the beam portion 35a of the supporter block 35 such that, while the engagement portion 37a is non-detachably inserted in the beam portion 35a, the needle portion 37b extends in parallel relation to the tangent which touches I the periphery of the incoming paper roll at a point passing through an extension of the longitudinal axis of the engagement portion 37a of the hook member 37. It is to be noted that the needle portion 37b of the hook member 37 is oriented in the direction opposite to the direction of rotation of the incoming paper roll B as indicated by Y. It is further to be noted that the clearance between the needle portion 37b and the peripheral surface of the incoming paper roll when the slidable rod 32 is in the extended position must be designed such that the pointed end of the needle portion 37b can engage an elastic member 40 approaching thereto as the incoming paper roll is rotated about its own axis. Pref erably, this clearance is of a value approximately equal to half a thickness of the elastic member 40 so that engagement between the needle portion 37b and the clastic member 40 can be ensured without any fault and/or without the needle portion 37 b contacting the periphery of the incoming paper roll.

A switch 38 for operating the cylinder device 23 so as to bring the piston rod 23a, that has been in the extended position, to the retracted position when closed is carried by the upright stud 35a of the supporting block 35. This switch 38 includes an actuator 38a for operating the switch 38 and provided with a barrier plate 39 of curved shape as shown having an intermediate slot (not shown) through which the actuator 38a extends toward the needle portion 37b of the hook member 37. The lower end extremity of the actuator 38a of the switch 38 is situated forwardly above the pointed end of the needle portion 37b. The distance between the lower end extremity of the actuator 38a and the level of the longitudinal axis of the needle portion 37b is preferably smaller than the upper half of the thickness of the elastic member 40 so that, as the needle portion of the hook member 37 pierces into the elastic member 40, the switch 38 can be switched on by the engagement between the actuator 38a and the upper half of the elastic member 40. The'barrier plate 39 acts, at this time, to prevent the elastic member 40 and/or the leading end extremity of the paper roll on which said elastic member 40 is placed from being entangled in-to a critical space where, if it takes place, the actuator 38a of the switch 38 or the switch 38 itself becomes inoperative.

Although not shown in the accompanying drawings, an auxiliary belt drive device may be provided for synchronizing the rotational speed of the incoming paper roll to that of the expiring paper roll prior to the splicing operation. In this case, the incoming paper roll is rotated by the friction exerted between the peripheral surface of said incoming paper roll and an endless belt driven by a suitable motor at a speed corresponding to the rotational speed of the expiring paper roll. This art of rotating the incoming paper roll in synchronism with the rotational speed of the expiring paper roll is well known to those skilled in the art. If the auxiliary belt drive device is utilized, the electromagnetic device 3] may be designed such as to be energized upon receipt of an electrical signal representative of the synchronization of the rotational speed of the incoming paper roll with that of the expiring paper roll.

Two types of arrangement of a paper roll which can be effectively utilized in connection with the splicer head of the construction as hereinbefore fully disclosed are shown in FIG. 3 and FIGS. 4 to 6.

Referring first to FIG. 3, a paper roll 50 is shown in the finished form which is commercially available in the market. However, according to the present invention, the leading end portion of the paper rolled into the paper roll 50 is formed into a substantially V- shaped end having a pair of edges 50a and 50b outwardly tapering toward a substantially intermediate portion of the width of said paper roll 50. It is to be noted that the terms leading and trailing" hereinabove and hereinafter used in connection with corresponding ends of a continuous web of paper rolled into the paper roll 50 are each defined in relation to the direction in which the web of paper is drawn from the paper roll 50.

On the outer surface of the leading portion of the rolled paper, two lengths of an adhesive tape, as indicated by 49a and 49b, having the both outer and inner surfaces coated with adhesive material are placed along the tapering edges 50a and 50b, respectively, said two lengths of adhesive tape 49a and 49b being in turn covered with flexible tapes 48a and 48b preferably made of paper and having only an inner surface coated with a suitable material which has no affinity to the adhesive material coated on the adhesive tapes 49a and 49b, for example, with silicone or wax.

A substantially rectangular guide sheet 47 has an inner surface coated with silicone or wax and has a trailing end secured to the leading end portion of the rolled paper by means of an adhesive piece 45 having only an inner surface coated with adhesive material while outward end portions of the respective flexible tapes 48a and 48b rest on the outer surface of the guide sheet 47 and secured thereto by means of a pair of adhesive pieces 46a and 46b bridging over the corresponding outward end portions of the flexible tapes 48a and 48b. These adhesive pieces 46a and 46b are of the same type as that of the adhesive piece 45.

The leading end of the guide sheet 47 is secured to an exposed portion of the peripheral surface of the paper roll 50 located substantially 360 apart from the tapered end extremity of the leading end portion of the rolled paper by means of a pair of adhesive pieces 44a and 44b of the same type as those of the adhesive pieces 46a and 46b. The guide sheet 47 carries the elastic member 40 on its outer surface adjacent to the leading end thereof, the upper surface of said elastic member 40 being, as shown in FIG. 2, placed with a rigid piece of paper 43. This rigid paper 43 has one surface coated with adhesive material adhereing to the upper surface of said elastic member 40 and employed in the form of, for example, a synthetic sponge piece. The sponge piece for the elastic member 40 must have a sufficient compressibility so that, during rotation of the incoming paper roll B carrying the elastic member 40 on its peripheral surface as shown in FIG. I, the running web of paper from the expiring paper roll A will not be cut off in contact therewith. In addition, it must have a sufficient strength so that, when the elastic member 40 approaches to the hook member 37 of the splicer head at a considerably high speed and is then engaged by the needle portion 37b of the hook member 37, the elastic member 40 itself will not be torn up by the effect of sudden impact exerted at this time by the engagement therebetween. In any way, it is to be noted that, although the rigid paper 43 (FIG. 2) may be omitted, it acts to add a strength to the elastic member 40 thereby to ensure the prevention of the elastic member 40 from being torn up in the manner as hereinabove described.

In another type of arrangement of the paper roll shown in FIG. 4 to FIG. 6, the tapered end extremity of the rolled paper is secured, by means of an adhesive piece 42, to that exposed portion on the peripheral surface of the leading end portion of the paper roll 50 substantially 360 apart therefrom. The guide sheet 47 employed in this arrangement shown is in the form of an elongated strip of rigid paper having one end rigidly secured with the elastic member 40 on one surface thereof, the remaining portion of the same surface of said guide sheet 47 being coated with silicone or wax, and the other end innerwardly bent at 47a and sandwiched between the pair of the flexible tapes 48a and 48b and the adhesive tapes 49a and 49b with that silicone or wax coated surface facing to the adhesive tapes 49a and 49b, respectively. The end extremity of the guide sheet 47 adjacent to the elastic member 40 is secured to the outer surface of the paper of the paper roll 50 by means of an adhesive piece 41.

In either of the arrangements of the paper roll 50 as hereinbefore described, it is clear that, when the elastic member 40 is engaged by the hook member 37 of the splicer head 10 during a continuous rotation of the paper roll 50 about its own axis, the guide sheet 47 can be removed away from the peripheral surface of the paper roll 50 accompanying the pair of the flexible tapes 48a and 48b so that the adhesive tapes 49a and 49b can be respectively exposed to the outside, in which condition the leading end portion of the paper of the incoming paper roll B may be said to be ready to adhere to the trailing end portion of the paper of the expiring paper roll A as shown in FIG. 1.

From the foregoing description, the following has now become clear. When the splicing operation in which one roll of paper, i.e., the incomingpaper roll B, is connected to another roll of paper, i.e., the expiring paper roll A, as the latter is consumed, thereby to maintain a continuous web feed, is desired, the reel 1 is rotated in the direction as indicated by X thereby to position the expiring paper roll A such as shown in FIG. 1 in response to the reduction of the outer diameter of said roll A. In this condition, the incoming paper roll B occupies the position previously occupied by the expiring paper roll A. Upon completion of the travel of the paper roll B to the abovementioned position, the cylinder device 23 is operated to cause the splicer head 10 to position in the operative position with the pair of roller wheels 27a and 27b in contact with the peripheral surface of the incoming paper roll B. It is to be noted that, upon contact between the roller wheel 27a and the paper roll B, the switch 25 is closed to intermit the supply of fluid medium to the cylinder device 23 and, hence, to maintain the paster head in the operative position.

The incoming paper roll B is then rotated either by the auxiliary belt drive device or by the frictional contact between the peripheral surface of said roll B and the running web of paper drawn out from the expiring roll A until the rotational speed of the roll B becomes substantially equal to that of the roll A. As the former speed is synchronized with the latter speed, the electromagnetic device 31 in the splicer head 10 is energized thereby to bring the slidable rod 32 and thus the supporter block 35 to the projected position with the hook member 37 being ready to engage the elastic member 40 on the paper roll B. The elastic member 40 on the paper roll B is subsequently engagedby the needle portion 37b of the hook member 37 in the operative position as said elastic member 40 approaches thereto, wherefor the guide sheet 47 is removed away from the peripheral surface of the paper roll B accompanying the corresponding removal of the pair of the flexible tapes 48a and 48b thereby to expose the adhesive tapes 49a and 49b. Substantially at the same time the engagement between the hook member 37 and the elastic member 40 takes place, the switch 38 is closed by the contact with the hooked elastic member 40 whereby the electromagnetic device 31 is disenergized to bring the slidable rod 32 and hence the supporting block 35 to the retracted position and, concurrently, the cylinder device 23 is operated so as to bring the splicer head 10 to the disengaged position.

As the incoming paper roll B is further rotated past the splicer head 10 in the direction as indicated by Y, the pair of the adhesive tapes 49a and 49b placed on the leading end portion of the paper of the incoming paper roll along the corresponding edges 50a and 50b adhere gradually but steadily to the trailing end portion of the expiring paper roll A thereby to maintain a continuous web feed, thus completing the splicing operation. After the splicing operation completes as hereinbefore described, the trailing end portion of the paper drawn from the expiring paper roll A is cut off by a suitable cutter, the construction and arrangement of which is well known to those skilled in the art. It is to be noted that the other paper roll C is used when the paper roll B has consumed and, hence, becomes an expiring paper roll.

For removing the elastic member 40 hooked by the hook member 37 from the latter, a scraper for achieving this purpose may be provided as indicated by 60. This scraper is in the form of a plate member having a slot adapted to accommodate therein the hook member 37 when the splicer head is in the disengaged position, and secured to a suitable framework such that, when the splicer head is brought to the disengaged position as indicated by dotted line in FIG. 1, the plate member permit the passage of the hook member 37 through the slot thereof thereby to scrape the hooked elastic member 40 off from the hook member 37.

The other preferred embodiment of the splicer head according to the present invention will be hereinafter described with reference to FIG. 7 and FIG. 8. It is to be noted that an essential feature of this embodiment resides in the provision of a suspension system for ensuring an exact engagement between the hook member and the elastic member on the paper roll even if the peripheral surface of said paper roll is of weave-like configuration and/or even if the paper roll undergoes an eccentric movement about its rotational axis to a certain extent.

Referring now to FIGS. 7 and 8, the splicer head 10 shown comprises a housing 70, which may be of the same as shown in FIG. 2, but shown as having a curved box-like shape substantially as shown in FIG. 7. This housing 70 is pivotable between a retracted or disengaged position as indicated by chain line and an engaged or operative position as indicated by real line about the suitable supporting member 22 rotatably mounted thereon by means of the bracket piece 21 secured to the housing 70 at one end 70a thereof, the other end of said housing 70 being formed with an opening 70b laterally open toward the peripheral surface of the paper roll 50 or B. To this end, a hydraulically operated cylinder 71, which may be of the same type as in the foregoing embodiment, is provided as secured to the housing 70 and having a piston rod 71a formed with one end situated within the cylinder device 71 and the other end pivotally connected with a bracket member 72 which is in turn non-rotatably mounted on the supporting member 22 in an angularly spaced relation to the bracket piece 21.

A four-wheeled bogie-like carriage 73 of substantially channel-shaped cross section as viewed from FIG. 8 having front and rear pairs of spaced and freely rotatable wheels 73a, 73b and 73c, 73d is situated in the opening 70b of the housing 70. This bogie-like carriage 73 is supported by the housing 70 in the following manner.

The housing 70 includes a pair of side plates 70c and 70d each formed with a hole as at 702 or 70f. A pair of bearing plates 74a and 74b are respectively secured to the outer surfaces of the side plates 70c and 70d, each of said bearing plates 74a and 74b having a through hole 740 or 74d in alignment with the corresponding hole 70e or 70f. Rotatably extending through the through hole 74c and then the hole 70e or the through hole 74d and then the hole 70f is a short shaft 75a or 75b, respectively, having one end situated within the housing 70 and the other end situated outside the housing 70.

A pair of casings 76a and 76b of the same construction are located outside the side plates 70c and 70d, respectively, in which a pair of suspension systems are operatively accommodated. Since the suspension systems within the respective casing 76a and 76b are of the same construction, only the system within the casing 76a will be referred to in the following description.

The suspension system includes a cylinder 77 having one end open and the other end closed and formed with a hollow chamber 77a. This cylinder 77 is rigidly secured to that end of the short shaft 75a situated outside the housing 70, the other end of said short shaft 75a (75b) being rigidly mounted with a guide plate 78a (78b).

Extending through the hollow chamber 77a of the cylinder 77 is a stud member 79 having a lower end enlarged and rigidly or integrally connected with a substantially intermediate portion of the bogie-like carriage 73 between the wheels of different pairs and the other end slidably extended through the closed end of the cylinder 77 with a nut 80 being fastened thereto. Within the hollow chamber 77a, a compression spring 81 is surrounding an intermediate portion of the stud member 79 and has one end situated on the enlarged end portion of the stud member 79 and the other end abutted against the closed end of the cylinder 77 so that the stud member 79 is normally downwardly urged by said compression spring 81.

Each of the guide plates 78a and 78b is formed with an eye member 78c or 78d, as clearly shown in FIG. 7, to which ends of a pair of tension springs 82a and 82b or 82c and 82d are connected from the opposite directions, the other ends of the pair of the tension springs being secured to the inner surfaces of the side plates c and 70d of the housing 70. Each pair of the tension springs 82a and 82b or 82c and 82d are balanced such that, if the guide plate 78a or 78b rotates in either direction in accordance with the pitching action of the bogie-like carriage 73 which may take place while the roller wheels 73a to 73d run over the rough surface, either of these springs of each pair counteract the other thereby to maintain the guide plate 78a or 78b and hence the bogie-like carriage 73 in a neutral position.

With the arrangement so far described, it is clear that the bouncing action of the bogie-like carriage 73 can be relieved by the compression springs 79 operatively housed within the cylinders 77 on the both sides of said carriage 73 and that the pitching action of the carriage 73 can be relieved by the provision of the two pairs of the tension springs 82a, 82b and 82c, 82d.

Housed within the housing 70 and mounted on a bridge-like platform of the bogie-like carriage 73 is the electromagnetic device 31 including a slidable rod 83 which corresponds to a combination of the movable iron core and the slidable rod 32 employed in association with the electromagnetic device in the foregoing embodiment. A lower end portion of this slidable rod 83 is loosely extended through a hole formed in the bridge-like platform of the bogie-like carriage 73 and in turn rigidly connected with a transverse block 84 carrying two pairs of hook members 84a, 84b and 84c. 84d, each of which is of the same construction as that of the hook member 37 employed in the foregoing embodiment.

The transverse block 84 carries a pair of upright pins 85a and 85b each having one end rigidly connected with said block 84 and the other end being fastened with a nut 86a or 86b, an intermediate portion thereof being loosely extended through a hole formed in the bridge-like platform of the carriage 73. Tension springs 87a and 87b are respectively mounted around the pins 850 and 85b between the nuts 86a and 86b and the bridge-like platform of the carriage 73 so that said transverse block 84 is normally upwardly urged. This transverse block 84 can be brought to a downwardly projected position only when said electromagnetic device 31 is energized substantially in the same manner as in the foregoing embodiment. Nevertheless, when the block 84 is in the downwardly projected position, the hook members 840 to 84d are each ready to engage with the approaching elastic member 40 on the incoming paper roll B.

The switch 38 to be closed by the hooked elastic member 40 for disenergizing the electromagnetic device 31 and concurrently for operating the cylinder device 71 so as to bring the splicer head 10 to the disengaged position is secured to the transverse block 84 in substantially the similar manner as secured to the supporter block 35 in the foregoing embodiment. The barrier plate 39 is located below the switch 38. However. this barrier plate 39 employed in this embodiment is of different shape from that employed in the foregoing embodiment. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the barrier plate 39 consists of a substantially vertical portion 39a and a substantially horizontal portion 39b, said vertical portion 39a being connected with a piston of a hydraulically operated cylinder 88 connected in turn to a suitable fluid source (not shown) by means of a tubing 89 and said horizontal portion 39b being frontwardly projected. As clearly shown in FIG. 8, the vertical portion 39b of the barrier plate 39 is formed at its lower edge with a pair of inward recesses through which the needle portions of one pair of the hook member 84a and 84b are fowardly extended while the other pair of the hook members 840 and 84d are located on the both sides of said plate 39. The cylinder 88 is normally conditioned such that the piston thereof is maintained in the retracted position and acts in such a manner that, when fluid medium is supplied thereto through the tubing 89, the piston is brought to the extended position causing the vertical portion 39b of the barrier plate to scrape the elastic member 40, that has been hooked by the hook members, off from said hook members. This cylinder may be designed such as to be operated in response to the return movement of the paster head from the engaged position to the disengaged position.

With the arrangement as hereinbefore fully described, the splicer head according to the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 basically functions in substantially the similar manner as afforded by the splicer head shown in FIG. 2. However, since the splicer head of FIGS. 7 and 8 is additionally provided with the suspension system, additional advantages can be appreciated as compared with that of FIG. 2. I

In the foregoing embodiments of FIG. 2 and FIGS. 7 and 8, the splicer head 10 may be mounted on the shaft 22 so as to be slidable in the direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of said shaft 22 whereby, even if a paper roll of different width from that of the paper roll previously used is utilized, the splicer head 10 can be adjusted in the right position. Particularly, in case of the splicer head of FIGS. 7 and 8, the bracket member 72 connected with the cylinder piston rod 710 must be mounted on the shaft 22 so as to be guided by a keyway such as indicated by 90 thereby to maintain a constantly angularly spaced relation with respect to the bracket piece 21 connected with the splicer head housing 70.

Furthermore, in the event that, when the paper of relatively inferior quality is used, the provision of the elastic member 40 protruding outwardly from the substantial peripheral surface of the paper roll proves to have a tendency to tear up the running web of paper from the expiring paper roll A as it approaches thereto during rotation of the incoming paper roll B, the belts 5 may be adjusted such that the lengthwise direction of one of said belts locates at the path of travel of the elastic member 40 whereby a portion of the running web of paper situated in register with the path of travel of said member 40 can be firmly backed up by said one of said belts 5 with said elastic member 40 sufficiently compressed in contact with said belt through said running web of paper.

Although the present invention has been fully described withreference to the accompanying drawings in connection with the preferred embodiments thereof, various changes and modifications are apparent to those skilled in the art. For example, although in the foregoing embodiments the splicer head has been described as being brought to the engaged position in response to the intermittent rotation of the reel, an alternative may be contemplated that the travel of the splicer head from the disengaged position to the engaged position can be effected by the use of another signal indicative of reduction of the diameter of the expiring paper roll A which may be generated from the diameter detector in a delayed manner with respect to the signal indicative of the same utilizedto rotate the reel so as to bring the incoming paper roll to the position occupied by the expiring paper roll.

Furthermore, the cylinder 88 in the embodiment of FIGS. 7 and 8, may be designed such as to be operated in a manner that, when the splicer head is in the engaged position, the piston thereof is in the extended position, but brought to the retracted position by the engagement between the barrier plate and the elastic member 40 with the fluid medium in the cylinder being discharged. In this case, it is preferable to design such that the cylinder 88 is operated so as to extend the piston to permit the hooked elastic member 40 to be scraped off therefrom and to subsequently discharge the fluid medium in the cylinder 88 when said splicer head is in the disengaged position.

In view of the foregoing, therefore, the present invention is not to be limited by the foregoing embodiments disclosed and such changes and modifications should be construed as included within the scope of the present invention unless otherwise they depart therefrom.

What is claimed is:

1. An automatic paper splicer which comprises a reel carrying a plurality of rolls of paper freely rotatably mounted thereon, each of said paper rolls having the outermost layer of paper applied with adhesive material along the end extremity thereof which is in turn covered with a non-adhesive tape having an elastic member placed thereon so as to project outwardly of the peripheral surface of said paper roll, means for intermittently rotating said reel about its own axis of rotation thereby permitting any one of said paper rolls to be brought to an operative position, means for drawing the web of paper out from the paper roll in said operative position and for feeding the web of paper to utilization means, said rotating means being operated in response to reduction of the diameter of the paper roll being drawn by said drawing means thereby to replace it with the succeeding one of said paper rolls, a splicer head disposed adjacent to the periphery of said succeeding one of said paper rolls, said splicer head comprising a housing, a cylinder means for selectively bringing said housing between disengaged and engaged positions, said cylinder means including a hydraulic cylinder member having a hydraulically operated piston rod movable with respect thereto, said piston rod having one end pivotally connected with said housing so as to selectively bring the housing between the disengaged and engaged positions, an electromagnetic means housed in said housing and including a movable member for selectively projecting and retracting said movable member, means for supplying fluid medium to said cylinder means, means for interrnitting the supply of fluid medium to said cylinder means only when said housing is brought to said engaged position adjacent to the periphery of said succeeding paper roll, wheeled carrier means provided with at least one hook member and supported by said movable member of said electromagnetic means such that, when said electromagnetic means is energized, said wheeled carrier means is projected toward the peripheral surface of said succeeding paper roll, a switch means for, when closed, deenergizing said electromagnetic means and concurrently for effecting the supply of fluid medium to the cylinder means so as to cause the housing to be brought to the disengaged position away from the peripheral surface of said succeeding paper roll, whereby said tape on the adhesive material coated on the outermost layer of paper of said succeeding paper roll is removed by the engagement between said hook member and said elastic member thereby to permit a leading portion of said outermost layer of paper of said succeeding paper roll to adhere to a trailing portion of the innermost layer of paper of the paper roll in the operative position so that a continuous web feed is ensured.

2. An automatic paper splicer as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a scraper means for removing the elastic member, that has been engaged by the hook member, off from said hook member when said housing is returned to said disengaged position.

3. An automatic paper splicer as claimed in claim 1, wherein said switch means includes an actuator engageable with the elastic member, as said elastic member is hooked by said hook member, so as to close said switch means.

4. An automatic paper splicer as claimed in claim 1, wherein said hook member includes a needle portion oriented such that, when said movable member is in the projected position, the pointed end of said needle portion is ready to pierce a substantially intermediate portion of the elastic member with respect to the height thereof.

5. An automatic paper splicer as claimed in claim 1, wherein said hook member includes a needle portion oriented such that the longitudinal axis of said needle portion is in parallel relation to the tangent which touches a point on the periphery of the succeeding paper roll.

6. An automatic paper splicer as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a suspension system for cushioning either or all of the bouncing and rolling actions of the splicer head which may take place when said splicer head rolls over a rouch surface of the paper roll.

7. A roll of paper having a leading end portion of substantially V-shape located on the outermost layer of the paper of said paper roll, which comprises an adhesive tape having the both opposite surfaces coated with adhesive material and placed on the outer surface of said leading end portion along the V-shaped configuration, a flexible tape having only one surface coated with material having no affinity to the adhesive material employed and covering said adhesive tape with said coated surface of said flexible tape facing to said adhesive tape, and means connected with said flexible tape on the outer surface of the leading end portion of said paper roll for removing said flexible tape to expose the adhesive tape.

8. An automatic paper splicer which comprises a reel carrying a plurality of rolls of paper freely rotatably mounted thereon, each of said paper rolls having the outermost layer of paper applied with adhesive material along the end extremity thereof which is in turn covered with a nonadhesive tape having an elastic member placed thereon so as to project outwardly of the peripheral surface of said paper roll, means for intermittently rotating said reel about its own axis of rotation thereby permitting any one of said paper rolls to be brought to an operative position, means for drawing the web of paper out from the paper roll in said operative position and for feeding the web of paper to utilization means, said rotating means being operated in response to reduction of the diameter of the paper roll being drawn by said drawing means thereby to replace it with the succeeding one of said paper rolls, a splicer head disposed adjacent to the periphery of said succeeding one of said paper rolls, said splicer head including a housing, means for selectively moving said housing between an engaged position proximate to the periphery of the succeeding roll and a disengaged position away from the periphery of the succeeding roll. said housing carrying at least one hook member for engaging the elastic member carried on the paper roll when the housing is in the engaged position, and switch means responsive to the engagement of the elastic member by the hook member for causing said means for moving said housing to move said housing to the disengaged position, whereby said tape on the adhesive material coated on the outermost layer of paper of said succeeding paper roll is removed by the engagement between said hook member and said elastic member thereby to permit a leading portion of said outermost layer of paper of said succeeding paper roll to adhere to a trailing portion of the innermost layer of paper of the paper roll in the operative position so that a continuous web feed is ensured. 

1. An automatic paper splicer which comprises a reel carrying a plurality of rolls of paper freely rotatably mounted thereon, each of said paper rolls having the outermost layer of paper applied with adhesive material along the end extremity thereof which is in turn covered with a non-adhesive tape having an elastic member placed thereon so as to project outwardly of the peripheral surface of said paper roll, means for intermittently rotating said reel about its own axis of rotation thereby permitting any one of said paper rolls to be brought to an operative position, means for drawing the web of paper out from the paper roll in said operative position and for feeding the web of paper to utilization means, said rotating means being operated in response to reduction of the diameter of the paper roll being drawn by said drawing means thereby to replace it with the succeeding one of said paper rolls, a splicer head disposed adjacent to the periphery of said succeeding one of said paper rolls, said splicer head comprising a housing, a cylinder means for selectively bringing said housing between disengaged and engaged positions, said cylinder means including a hydraulic cylinder member having a hydraulically operated piston rod movable with respect thereto, said piston rod having one end pivotally connected with said housing so as to selectively bring the housing between the disengaged and engaged positions, an electromagnetic means housed in said housing and including a movable member for selectively projecting and retracting said movable member, means for supplying fluid medium to said cylinder means, means for intermitting the supply of fluid medium to said cylinder means only when said housing is brought to said engaged position adjacent to the periphery of said succeeding paper roll, wheeled carrier means provided with at least one hook member and supported by said movable member of said electromagnetic means such that, when said electromagnetic means is energized, said wheeled carrier means is projected toward the peripheral surface of said succeeding paper roll, a switch means for, when closed, de-energizing said electromagnetic means and concurrently for effecting the supply of fluid medium to the cylinder means so as to cause the housing to be brought to the dIsengaged position away from the peripheral surface of said succeeding paper roll, whereby said tape on the adhesive material coated on the outermost layer of paper of said succeeding paper roll is removed by the engagement between said hook member and said elastic member thereby to permit a leading portion of said outermost layer of paper of said succeeding paper roll to adhere to a trailing portion of the innermost layer of paper of the paper roll in the operative position so that a continuous web feed is ensured.
 2. An automatic paper splicer as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a scraper means for removing the elastic member, that has been engaged by the hook member, off from said hook member when said housing is returned to said disengaged position.
 3. An automatic paper splicer as claimed in claim 1, wherein said switch means includes an actuator engageable with the elastic member, as said elastic member is hooked by said hook member, so as to close said switch means.
 4. An automatic paper splicer as claimed in claim 1, wherein said hook member includes a needle portion oriented such that, when said movable member is in the projected position, the pointed end of said needle portion is ready to pierce a substantially intermediate portion of the elastic member with respect to the height thereof.
 5. An automatic paper splicer as claimed in claim 1, wherein said hook member includes a needle portion oriented such that the longitudinal axis of said needle portion is in parallel relation to the tangent which touches a point on the periphery of the succeeding paper roll.
 6. An automatic paper splicer as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a suspension system for cushioning either or all of the bouncing and rolling actions of the splicer head which may take place when said splicer head rolls over a rouch surface of the paper roll.
 7. A roll of paper having a leading end portion of substantially V-shape located on the outermost layer of the paper of said paper roll, which comprises an adhesive tape having the both opposite surfaces coated with adhesive material and placed on the outer surface of said leading end portion along the V-shaped configuration, a flexible tape having only one surface coated with material having no affinity to the adhesive material employed and covering said adhesive tape with said coated surface of said flexible tape facing to said adhesive tape, and means connected with said flexible tape on the outer surface of the leading end portion of said paper roll for removing said flexible tape to expose the adhesive tape.
 8. An automatic paper splicer which comprises a reel carrying a plurality of rolls of paper freely rotatably mounted thereon, each of said paper rolls having the outermost layer of paper applied with adhesive material along the end extremity thereof which is in turn covered with a nonadhesive tape having an elastic member placed thereon so as to project outwardly of the peripheral surface of said paper roll, means for intermittently rotating said reel about its own axis of rotation thereby permitting any one of said paper rolls to be brought to an operative position, means for drawing the web of paper out from the paper roll in said operative position and for feeding the web of paper to utilization means, said rotating means being operated in response to reduction of the diameter of the paper roll being drawn by said drawing means thereby to replace it with the succeeding one of said paper rolls, a splicer head disposed adjacent to the periphery of said succeeding one of said paper rolls, said splicer head including a housing, means for selectively moving said housing between an engaged position proximate to the periphery of the succeeding roll and a disengaged position away from the periphery of the succeeding roll, said housing carrying at least one hook member for engaging the elastic member carried on the paper roll when the housing is in the engaged position, and switch means responsive to the engagement of the elastic member by the hook member for causing said means for moving said housing to move said housing to the disengaged position, whereby said tape on the adhesive material coated on the outermost layer of paper of said succeeding paper roll is removed by the engagement between said hook member and said elastic member thereby to permit a leading portion of said outermost layer of paper of said succeeding paper roll to adhere to a trailing portion of the innermost layer of paper of the paper roll in the operative position so that a continuous web feed is ensured. 